The Past, Present And Future
by Mystiqal Neko
Summary: (CHAPTER 4 UPLOADED) An insight look on a broken relationship that was once perfect and pure. Combines the problems of the past that once were, the present that is and the future that will become. TohmaMika pairing.
1. So They Met

Disclaimer: Gravi does not belong to me, unfortunately

Author's notes: Hallo!! This happens to be my very first fic so.... be nice readers and PLEASE review. I'm really sorry for the errors in this fic and I hope that it was worth your read. By the way, "..." = dialogue, '...' = thoughts and _italics_ = flashbacks. Enjoy

**The Past, Present And Future**

Mika silently glanced up at the majestic grand-father clock which stood at the corner of the room. '5 a.m. ........ Great...' Mika thought sarcastically. Well..... technically she shouldn't be worried too much. He **IS** the supreme president of N.G. Recordings. He **IS** the keyboardist of the smash-hit band, Nittle Grasper. So... why should she, Mika Uesugi, wife of Tohma Seguchi be worried. ' I rarely see him anyway....' She thought silently.

'Rarely??' she thought sarcastically. Mika chuckled. ' It's more like an annual meeting kinda thing. Is it even considered as rarely?' She swore, if they didn't live in the same house, Tohma wouldn't even know that she existed. Her thoughts suddenly jumped to the first time she actually met her spouse with her own two eyes.......

_*Flashback*_

  
_" What do you mean betrothed??!!!" screamed a young woman of around 16 years of age._   
_" I mean exactly what I mean." replied an old balding monk with a sharp edge to his voice._   
_" Care to explain this to me again?? This time a little bit more slower??"_   
_" As I said about a million times before, your responsibility in this family is to get married off to a well respected family to bring our shrine honour"_   
_" So, in short, I'm a hooker?!!" screamed the woman in disgust._   
_" I never said that!"_   
_" Ohhh... you sure meant enough, otousan" her voice dripping with venom._   
_" All I meant is, that you get married of to a well respected family unlike your brothers who are the heirs of this shrine."_   
_" I have no time for men. Useless piece of thrash. Lower form of humankind. An embarrasment to all homosapiens!!" she replied in agony._   
_" I'm sure you didn't mean that right?? " asked a pleasant voice._

_" I mean what I said!! And don't you dare give me that oh-so-pleasant-and-cute-voice-so-that-i-will-change-my-mind kind of thing. I have no time for such rubbish!" while giving her father the death glare._

_Her father cringed at the sight of the LOOK. It just plainly said, DON'T MESS WITH ME RIGHT NOW. ' She reminds me of you, Honey.' Her father thought silently, not daring enough to voice it out. He just shook his head and pointed to a tall blonde man leaning against the door frame conviniently situated behind the otousan._

_Mika just glared at the new-comer as he smiled oh so pleasantly away. " Who the hell are you? Get out.. NOW!!" It was actually more of an order rather than a question to everyone else. But, obviously, this stranger is unlike everyone else. He just stood his ground and answered the question in a calm demeanor. " I'm Tohma Seguchi. Nice to meet you. May I compliment you on your wonderful work cheering up this old shrine. It was an absolute disaster when I came to visit last time." This so-and-so named Tohma Seguchi started to walk towards her with an arm extended._

_Mika just stared at him dumbfounded while the information was still trying to process itself in her overly confused brain. Tohma glanced down at his hand in a hinting manner. " Umm... you're suppose to shake it." Mika was plucked out of her reverie and slammed back to reality as she took the strangers hand. She stared at his form of attire in odd concentration. Well.... who wouldn't considering that he was sporting an orange coloured shirt that looked oddly like Tatsuha's pyjama top, normal black slacks, an eye glaring shiny pair of black executive shoes and to top it of, a fur trimmed overcoat with some feathers splashed at the hems that hanged loosely on his shoulders. Not forgetting the weird black hat that looks quite similar to an artist's barrete. Plus, his soft and delicate hands look like they could be broken into half if held too tightly._

_With the all too weird attire, only the black slacks and executive shoes screamed normality while the rest just plainly said 'PIMP'........._

_A laughter erupted from her chest. " This is the guy I'm suppose to marry?" Mika spoke from sheer humour. Tohma just smiled away as usual while the monk just looked at his daughter quizzically and replied. "Umm......Yes??" his voice dripping with uncertainty. The room boomed yet again with Mika's obviously loud laughter._

_A little sob was heard at the entrance of the room. "Mika ne-chan?? Why are you laughing like that?" Mika's laughter stopped as she gave her little brother a quizzical look. Tatsuha's eyes widened as he gasped " Oh no!! What did you do to Mika ne-chan?? You....you shape-shifting alien from Planet Mars!!" Tatsuha wailed away while throwing his drool stained pillow at te so-called shape-shifting alien from Planet Mars which obviously missed its target. Mika approached her brother as he crouched down and crawled away into a corner almost tripping on the hem of his pyjama pants._

_An obvious change was seen in Mika's facial expression as the rage and sarcasm all ebbed away being replaced by innocent humour and pity for her little brother. "You've been watching late night horror movies with Eiri haven't you?" kindness evident in her voice._

_Tatsuha's eyes almost popped out of their socket as he flunged his arms around Mika's neck and tangled her hair around his tiny fingers. Tatsuha nuzzled his head at the crook of Mika's neck and mumbled something inaudible to ordinary human ears. Knowing Mika, she's no ordinary human being with ordinary human capabilities. Instead, she replied softly in her brother's ears "I would have kicked their butt's before they take me to their mother ship." Tatsuha pulled away slightly to look into his sister's eyes. "Really??" Mika just nodded in reply._

_Tohma stood there in admiration for the young woman standing in front of him. 'Finally, Father actually did something right' he thought silently. As Mika began to walk away with her brother in her arms ever-so-securely, Tohma voiced out "I'm glad that you think my voice is cute. By the way, don't worry too much about me being betrothed to you. I didn't plan it. But......" he stopped. Tohma walked towards her and whispered in her ear " I'll be back.....Don't worry." Mika just rolled her eyes. "I'll be waiting oh so eagerly" replied Mika, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm glad you feel the same" he replied as he strutted down the hallway towards the exit._

_"Who was that?" spoke a voice coming from the dark corner. "I see that you're up quite late. Writing again?" Mika spoke to the open air without even turning around to see who it was. "May....be" Eiri stiffled a yawn. Mika's eyes soften as........_

_*End of flashback*_

Mika scrambled onto her two feet as she heard the lock turn. She immediately jogged towards the door and opened it in haste. Tohma's eyes widened slightly and smiled as he realised that it was only his wife.

"Were you waiting for me, Mika-san?" Tohma asked with a jovial smile on his face.

'There's no way I'm going to admit that.' With that, Mika rolled her eyes and raked her brain for an excuse. 'Excuse, excuse, excuse....' she chanted in her head mentally.

Tohma looked at her, waiting for an answer. "I'm going out!" came an arupt reply. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid...' she chanted mentally in her head yet again. Tohma looked at her once again and let out a small tired chuckle. "Oh...I suppose the nightgown is a new trend in the latest fashion industry, Mika-san?" he replied cheerfully. Mika turned beet red as Tohma voiced the question out. She just stood aside letting Tohma in the house.

"Ok...fine..I..I..was w.w..waiting for you." she spluttered out. "Thank you for being so caring, Mika-san." whispered Tohma as he allowed himself a small hug from Mika. Although no strangers were in the house, Tohma never let his emotions be etched on his face. His face either remained as neutral as ever or the smiling facade he often wears as a mask.

Mika patted her husband's back as he pulled away. "I just got back from Eiri's. Apparently, he has healed from the fever thanks to the bird's nest soup you made for him, Mika-san.". 'Formalities yet again. Why can't you just call me Mika just like you call Eiri?' Mika thought briefly.

"That's great. I'm glad the soup helped.". She felt a pang of jealousy towards her little brother. 'Little?? Maybe not.'

A flash of Eiri's scowling face passed her mind like a bolt of lightning. "Would you like some dinner?". Mika's eyes glanced up to see a smiling Tohma wearing an pink apron while holding a spatula in his right hand. Mika just smiled in return and approached Tohma quietly.

"It's almost 6 in the morning. Dinner was over a long time ago." Tohma glanced at the clock and grinned sheepishly. Mika shook her head and replied "Why don't you sleep for a moment while I fix breakfast?" Although the words held kindness, they still carried authourity and shall not tolerate a refusal of any sort.

Tohma just nodded fearing the concequences of Mika-san wrath. With that, Tohma entered his bedroon which was promptly next to Mika's. Although they were married for a couple of years already, they still didn't feel a heated passion towards each other. Thus resulting in a separate bedroom order.

The lights went off after a few minutes. Mika was still stirring the boiling pot of spaggeti to be served as breakfast.

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More author's notes: Before I forget, I'll be alternating between the past and the present for this fic. Note the freaky title. Anyway, thanks a lot for reading. Don't forget to post your reviews. I don't really mind flames though.


	2. Mental Image

Disclaimer: Gravi does not belong to me, unfortunately

Author's notes: Hallo yet again. Thanks a lot for those who reviewed the last chapter. I really hoped that you liked it. By the way, this chapter is dedicated just for you guys!! There's more Author's Notes at the bottom so that I don't spoil the story before you even get a chance to read it. I'm sorry if there's errors in this fic Just in case you guys forget, "..." = dialogue, '...' = thoughts and _italics_ = flashbacks. Enjoy

_Mika shifted restlessly on the sheets of her bed as she tried to gain some rest. However, the minute she closed her eyes, a smiling blonde figure haunted her mind. Mika sighed in annoyance._

_"Great!! He must haved cursed me. Either that or he somehow found a way to input his image in my bloody brain!!" Mika said outloud. "Get out, get out!!!!" Mika yelled while hitting her head with a bolster that was within reach._

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_'Milk.......' he thought as the white liquid slid down his throat. Eiri's eyes totally bugged out as he heard his sister apparently yelled "Get out!!" to someone. Thinking that it was some perverted stalker after Mika, he immediataly burst through the door of her bedroom while yelling "Mika one-chan!!!"_

_The sight that was unveiled in front of him, surprised him more than any stalker could. It was her sister alright yelling those words, but her actions made him wonder whether she was possesed by an apparrently **VERY** vengeful spirit._

_Mika obviously didn't hear the loud srcream of her brother, or else she wouldn't have graced his presence with hitting herself over and over again with the purple bolster that will never be the same as it was before Mika made a grab for it. Chunks of cotton lay everywhere within reach without the help of the wind and ragged pieces of purple cloth that looked like it had been bitten by something were scattered messily on the bed._

_"Mika... one-chan...." Eiri whispered with uncertainty tainting his voice. Mika had apparently heard him as she turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were slightly wide for awhile until she finally gained her senses and grinned sheepishly. Well at least she thought so. Eiri cringed at the sight of Mika's smile. It looked cynical and odd._

_"Is that you, Mika one-chan??" he asked in bewilderment. "Of course it's me. What do you think?" Mika spoke with an air of pride surrounding her. She has gained back her composure. "Okay......." he replied awkwardly. "I just thought that you were in some trouble, considering that you were yelling 'Get out' ever so loudly." Eiri said complete with a near perfect mimic of Mika's shriek at the part where he mentioned 'Get out'._

_Apparently, Eiri's version of the scream was much more believable than Mika's feeble yet original attempt. This was of course proven when **BOTH** their father and Tatsuha burst through the door and yelled "Are you alright??!!!" at the same time. Eiri chuckled while Mika smiled slightly watching the panic faces of Tatsuha and her brother faded into confusion._

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Mika stirred in her sleep as she withdrew herself from slumberland. 'What a dream......' she thought as broken fragments of the dream came to her in a flash. Pushing back the dream to the back of her mind, she noticed that she was carefully placed on the comfortable bed of her room with warm pristine white sheets engulfing her body. She suddenly thought, 'Tohma...'

Mika allowed herself a little smile as she promptly got out of the comforting warmth of her bed. Mika shivered slightly as the late morning chill started to kick in. As she got out, she realised that the pots, pans and plates were all cleaned up and a half portion of the spaggetti she made disappear.

'He's gone to work already??' Mika thought in surprise. 'Or is he out to see Eiri??', a small voice in her head whispered. She shook her head vigorously to silence or possibly kill that little, annoying and jealous tinged voice. 'I'm not jealous!', Mika denied. 'Oh really?? Then are you green with envy??' the little voice spoke again. 

Obviously the head-shaking method didn't work. 'Maybe I should drown myself with caffeine.' 'Hah! You can't get rid of me that easily!' the voice exclaimed in sheer confidence. Mika groaned as she boiled a kettle full of water.

Her mind wondered off towards the dream as the voice that was humming the tune of Sleepless Beauty a minute ago faded. 'It was the night when I first met Tohma, wasn't it?' Mika thought in surprise. Fate sure has a way of tieing, more or so tangling things together.

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_Slowly but surely, Mika finally crawled towards the Land Of Dreams as her vision blurred and everything faded away._

_'Where am I?' Mika wondered silently as she began to suck in the view around her with her eyes. 'It looks like I'm in a painting.' An impressionist painting to be exact. The so-called garden held blurred up flowers of all sorts and she was standing in the middle of it. _

_As she turned around, who should appear but the young, blonde and elusive Tohma Seguchi. Mika just stood there with a questioning look upon her features. His sharp features looked out of place with the unclear background._

_All of a sudden, Tohma brought her into a tight embrace as he soothingly raked his fingers in her hair. Mika stood there with eyes wide open and her arms hanging limply on her sides. Tohma shifted his head slightly to spread feather-light kisses on her neck and jawline. Mika couldn't help but feel a surge of pleasure pass through her like the after effects of good tasting chocolate._

_As if reading her mind, Tohma smirked, pulled back from the embrace and looked at her with those intense green jewels he passes of as eyes. Suddenly, the ground rumbled and everything started spinning around except of course, Tohma and her. Much to her horror, every piece of clothing covering Tohma's lean body from waist up, disappeared...._

-------------------------

_Mika woke up with a start, sweat smearing her forehead. 'Great. I've just met the guy for not more than 5 minutes and I'm already having **NEAR** sexual dreams about him.' Mika thought sarcastically._

_Mika groaned in annoyance and continued her sweet slumber despite the appearance of Tohma Seguchi's face popping out in her head every other minute._

-------------------------

Mika was out of her reverie as she realised that her kettle was emmiting a loud screech. Mika sighed and dragged her feet to prepare a cup of coffee. To her annoyance, the stupid voice was now there at the back of her head muttering 'Coffee..' to the tune of Shining Collection. Mika sighed an thought, 'Maybe I'm going insane......'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

More notes: So.... what do you think? I tried adding a bit of humour to it to give it more life. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as enjoyed writing it. By the way, thanks for reading this fic and PLEASE review. =)


	3. Blind Date Part I

Disclaimer: I do not have millions of dollars in my bank account considering that I do not own Gravitation.

Author's notes: I really sorry about the late update. Well I've been kinda busy with Hari Raya and all. Anyway, this chappie is dedicated to the nice reviewers who reviewed this fic. Thanks!! Just in case you guys forget, "..." = dialogue, '...' = thoughts and _italics_ = flashbacks. Enjoy

**Blind Date Part I**

After drinking nearly the whole pot of coffee, Mika got ready for a new day. Interesting, maybe but definitely new. Right after freshening up, shutting up the jealous alter-ego, dressing into a proper attire, shutting up the jealous alter-ego, cleaning up the mess she made in the kitchen and shutting up her jealous alter-ego, Mika took the keys to her red Ferarri and drove off to run some errands. But of course, not after her daily early afternoon trip to the cafe.

Mika promptly parked her car in haste and headed towards her usual table. Breathing a sigh of relief as it was vacant, she flagged down a waiter and ordered a cup of a double shot espresso. 'It's pretty full today, isn't it? Business must be good' Mika thought absentmindedly. While she waited for her drink, Mika mentally arranged the errands she had to run according to its priority.

However, as a stranger approached Mika's table, her thoughts went fluttering away to oblivion. 'Who's that? He's cute.' Mika's alter-ego spoke. The man approached Mika while smiling all the way. As he made his way towards her table, heads turned and voices buzzed about the new-comer. Mika couldn't help but stare at the man and check him out. 'Stop acting like a love-struck school girl!' Mika mentally scolded herself. 'But he's cute! Everyone's green with envy. Just look at the glares you're receiving from the female population of this cafe!'. Mika glanced around and concluded that her alter-ego's voice held some truth in them.

"Excuse me, miss. I'm sorry to be a bother but may I sit here?" the man said. "Eh??" 'Wow! A very intelligent thing to say.' Mika's alter-ego spoke sarcastically. Mika checked him out yet again. From the straight brown hair which was streaked blonde, to the cute boyish features, the broad shoulders and the well-toned muscles peeking beneath the sleeves of his shirt, he could well be passed of as a male model. 'Probably is one' the annoying voice spoke. "Shut up" Mika murmured.

"Excuse me?" the man enquired. "Sorry about that, I must have spaced out for a momnet there. Could you please repeat the question again?" Mika asked. "May I sit here? The cafe is quite full and I can't find any other seat." the man asked, this time a bit louder. A considerable amount of women moved to the edge of their seats to make some room for the handsome stranger. Mika smirked at their actions and nodded firmly. The buzzing voices of women broke the near silence that engulfed the cafe a moment ago.

"I'm Akira. Nice to meet you." the man bowed slightly to show respect. "I'm Mika Uesugi. Nice to meet you too, Akira-san." "Please, it's only proper that you just call me Akira. I'm really grateful for the seat." Akira smiled. Mika's heart did a sudden flip and started beating faster.

Akira took a seat and began chatting about everything under the sun. After reaching to the topic of espresso versus mocha, which Akira conviniently ordered, they landed on the subject of music that led to "This may sound like a pick-up line but, you seem vaguely familiar. Have I seen you somewhere?" Akira nodded and answered, "I think you may have seen me on t.v. I'm one of the members of a pop band that's popular recently." 'Go figure.....' the alter-ego retorted. "Oh.... maybe that's it. It's just that you remind me of someone I can't exactly put my finger on." Akira just chuckled slightly and replied, "Well, maybe fate has arranged us to meet earlier but we simply didn't...... until now."

Mika's heart did flips of all sort and could have won the gold medal for gymnastics if there were such things. Mika just brushed the topic aside and began talking about other stuff. And suddenly, she remembered her first blind date.

--------------------------------

_"Mika-chan!! I'm begging you!! PLEASE!!" wailed a girl on bended knees._

_"Miyame, you're making a scene....." Mika spoke through gritted teeth. And of course true enough, they were making a scene. If the owner of the cafe didn't know them well, they'd probably be kicked out onto the streets by now._

_"And I'll continue making a scene unless you say yes!!!!!" Miyame shrieked once again_

_Having enough of a headache from cleaning up after her siblings food fight and lecturing them about it for one whole hour, Mika just sighed and said an heaving "Yes...."_

_Miyame's eyes widened with the reply and began jumping while punching her fist in the air with truimph. "Mika-chan, I'll never forget this!! Thank you so much!!"_

_'I cant believe I actually agreed to this double-slash-blind date crap.....' Mika felt her headache emerged yet again and asked, "Can I at least bring Eiri or even Tatsuha along? At least he'll keep me company while you run off somewhere and the guy I'm suppose to date turns out to be some deformed freak"_

_"But Mika-chan..." Miyame whined. "I don't want some kids ruining my first date with my soon-to-be steady boyfriend..." "And you want me to go, why?" Mika asked with forced patience. "To safeguard my virtue of course." Miyame said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, he said he was suppose to meet his friend tomorrow and couldn't cancel last minute. Plus, they're not from around here so I thought a formal tour of Kyoto and of course Kyoto girls would do them some good before they returned to Tokyo." Miyame spoke the last statement with excitement._

_Mika rolled her eyes at the respond. "Aww... come-on Mika-chan. Don't you feel at least turned on by the fact that were actually going out with cute Tokyo guys?" Miyame asked in response of the eye-rolling thing Mika did._

_Mika sighed and exited the cafe. "Mika-chan!! Remember!! We'll meet you at the entrance of the theatre at seven!" Miyame Yuko called out before Mika was out of earshot._

-------------------------------

Tohma glanced up at the numbers making up Eiri's apartment number. Tohma sighed and thought, 'Ironic isn't it? Married to the sister but loving the brother instead...'. Tohma rang the bell although he didn't have to. 'Maybe I should just use my set of keys..'. Impatient footsteps were heard from the other side. Tohma straightened up from his hunched posture just in time to see Eiri slam the door in his face.

Tohma's eyes widened and stepped back from the door. A great safe distance back. Even from there, he could hear Shuichi whining, "Yuki!~ You shouldn't slam the door at visitors!!" "It's a door-to-door salesman" Yuki spoke with his deadpan voice. "But still......" Shuichi said as his voice got nearer to the door.

The door clicked open to reveal a really messed up and pouting Shuichi. Shuchi's eyes were almost dangling by the nerves, arteries, veins and what ever that might be holding them together as his eyes almost flew out of it's sockets.

A millisecond later, Shuichi was bowing as low as he can go. After admiring the extraordinary feat of Shuichi nearly toppling over, Tohma just brushed Shuichi aside and went inside the apartment.

_Click._ The door was shut again. Yuki was glaring as usual although his messed up hair reveal him to be busy before Tohma entered and Shuichi was just plain ol' shocked to see his boss in the aparment. "Mika told me to check on you." Tohma broke the silence. Yuki rolled his eyes in annoyance and grunted. 'That eye-rolling thing must run in the family' Tohma thought silently, remembering Mika. "Would you like some tea Seguchi-san?" Another thing broken, tension. "That's fine, Shindou-san. I'm leaving in quite a bit."

"That's far longer then needed...." Yuki drawled. "I'll leave then..." The nanosecond he finished the sentence, Tohma was shoved out of the apartment and the door slammed in his face, yet again. "Yuki~" Shuichi whined from the other side of the door. "You shouldn't treat...." Before that could be finished too, Tohma heard a soft 'thud' on the door followed by a moan whom Tohma guessed was Shuichi.

Being in and out of love with Yuki as it is, Shuichi sounded really happy from the other side of the door. And I mean REALLY happy. 'Imagine yourself in Shindou-san's position...' Tohma thought as he mingled at the front of the door.

Instantly, Yuki's face loomed on top of him, smiling. As he edged nearer.......'POOF'.. thoughts all gone. Sigh. 'I guess I've lost my overactive imagination already... Hmm.. I wonder... Maybe I should buy myself a pink bunny, call it 'Kumagorou', carry it around wherever I go and actually have a man-to-stuffed toy conversation with it to keep my imagination in practice.' Tohma mused silently as he slowly floated down the stairwell. 'People would probably think I'm an insane overworked producer-slash-famous popstar keyboardist even before the results show. But then again.....'

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Author's notes: Sorry again for the late update. I know that this chapter isn't much but hey, I tried. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed it as much as the other chapters too. And last but not least, **PLEASE REVIEW**. Sorry if I'm a review addict but it encourages me to write more.


	4. Surprise Surprise Blind Date Part II

Disclaimer: Gravi does not belong to me, unfortunately

Author's notes: I'm **really really really** sorry 'bout the whole late update thing. School's been hectic lately so.. I'm sure most of you guys are familiar with the stress I'm going through. But, no worries. Don't fret. As long as I'm still alive, the fic **will** go on. For those with a short memory span, "..." = dialogue, '...' = thoughts and _italics_ = flashbacks. Enjoy

**Surprise Surprise**

After paying the bill, they finally exited the cafe serenaded by glares from at least half of the women in the cafe. Mika smirked and ignored the glares that bore holes at the back of her head.

"Listen Mika, the reason I'm here is to offer you a ..."

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_Mika tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the guys they were suppose to date. "Not very punctual are they?" Mika stated rather than asked as she smirked away in a very satisfied manner. "Well, shall we go then?" Mika asked, her voice laced with hopefulness. "But Mika..." Miyame Yuko whined. "It's only one past seven... besides, the movie starts in 29 minutes. He'll come by that time." Miyame continued._

_Mika huffed as she glared at her 'friend'. Even being around her, embarrassed Mika due to the outfit she sported. Mika studied Miyame from the top of her multicoloured hair streaks to the thick make-up, gaudy choker and matching earrings, a piece of fabric covering her body which would barely pass off as a handkerchief, camouflaged army micromini skirt, knee-high stockings which were convieniently mismatched and finally, chunky platform pumps._

_A dark sillhoutte blocked the breathtaking sunset taking place in front of them. Miyame waved enthusiastically at the figure._

_"Hallo!!!!" the figure screamed. Mika restrained the urge to cover her ears as the scream was loud enough to shatter glass._

_"Mika-san, this is Ryuichi Sakuma!!!" Miyame spoke while pointing towards the figure who was already in arms reach. "He's in a band called Nittle Grasper. Oh my god, isn't it great. You're music is sooo......". From that moment, Mika shunted herself from the droning of raw, sweet flattery and eye-glaring admiration._

_"Where's youre friend?" Mika interrupted._

_Ryuichi smiled a funny, dopey litle smile while taking out something from the inside of his leather jacket..... something pink, something fluffy..._

_"Ta-da!!" A pink stuffed bunny was immediately shoved in Mika's face. "This is Kumagorou na no da..... he's my friend na no da." Ryuichi said animatedly. Mika stared blindly at the stuffed toy as Ryuichi held it close to his ear. "Kumagorou said that you're very pretty."_

_"I'm dating a stuffed toy??!!" Mika asked in shock. Ryuichi immediately clamped Kumagorou's ears shut. Ryuchi glared with puppy-dog-eyes. "Don't say that na no da!"_

_Miyame stood in between of them while giving her the 'look'. The look that plainly said Mika-don't-ruin-my-first-date-with-this-hot-guy-or-it's-gonna-be-hell-for-you. _

_Usually, Mika didn't care but today she seemed off and didn't bother arguing. Instead, she just sighed. Miyame's eyes lit up like high power flashlights on steroids. 'Maybe you're going soft?' Mika mused with much disappointment._

_"Oh!" Miyame exclaimed. The other two looked at her. "Mika, this is Ryuichi Sakuma" Ryuichi extended his hand towards her. Mika suddenly remembered her encounter with a similar situation and took his hands in hers._

_Ryuichi's eyes widened for awhile. "Not many people in Japan know of that custom na no da. But how did yo -" Ryuichi was cut off mid-sentence. "Someone er.... thought me."Mika replied, flashes of Tohma Seguchi's features appeared in her mind._

_Miyame cleared her throat rather loudly. The pair turned their heads towards her. "Like I was saying, Mika, this is Ryuichi Sakuma." She paused as the two nodded at each other. "And this," Miyame gestured towards Mika "is Mika Uesugi."_

_Ryuichi's eyes widened slightly then narrowed suspiciously. "Uesugi-san.." His voice laced with childlike happiness moments ago was replaced by one filled with seriousness and a tinge of malice. "You don't happen to know a Tohma Seguchi do you?"_

_Mika gaped at him with shock. 'How did he know Toh- i mean Seguchi-san?' she thought silently. Apparently, Mika's shocked features were enough of an answer as Mika stayed silent._

_Ryuichi's eyes narrowed even more and his face took a whole different persona. Ryuichi's eyes were filled with nothing other than pure hatred."You don't happen to be betrothed to him, are you?!!" Ryuichi exclaimed. Mika clamped her mouth shut. 'How did he know?!!' Mika thought angrily, demanding for an answer. A lightbulb flickered in her overworked brain._

_"I'm sorry Miyame, but I have to go." Mika ran away before she even received an answer. She never looked back and just ran in heels like there was no tomorrow._

---------------------------------------------

"a job." Akira continued. 'Rats.. he could have made a better second husband instead of .....' the voice in Mika's head droned away in disappointment. Mika stared at him, waiting for the shock to seep in and asked, "What?!!".

"Sorry, it took so long to inform you but I wasn't really sure of you're capabilities."

"Because I'm a woman?" Mika said skeptically.

Akira scratched his head and grinned sheepishly. "Kinda"

"But I don't remember applying for a job." Mika stated.

"Oh, you didn't. Mr. Matsumoto wanted you to be in-charge of the place. He listed it in his will along with a few things. Including the part about owning the place."

"Will? You mean- he past away?" Mika stuttered in shock, remembering the kind bartender she used to visit often before her marriage.

"I'm afraid so." Akira sighed. "He wanted you to take care of the place as long as either one of us lives."

"So... you're gonna be like... my superior. My boss?" Mika asked

"Well, technically you're the boss. I just own the place." Akira paused for a moment. "But you still have to consult me regarding a few matters."

Mika stared openly at him. Shock still trying to seep through. 'What will Tohma think?' she thought.

"Isn't the bar in Kyoto?" Mika asked all of a sudden.

"Don't be silly. That closed months ago. People of the Shinto faith didn't drink much so he opened a new one in the heart of Tokyo itself."

'Who cares what Tohma thinks!!' the small voice in her head screamed. 'Maybe... I do' Mika replied mentally.

"Sure, why not." Mika said suddenly. Her eyes widened for a millisecond. Apparently, Mika's brain-to-mouth coordination wasn't working too well due to the fact that she was actually suppose to say 'I'll think about it.'

Mika mentally slapped, smacked and spanked herself. 'The whole different-persona-voice-in-the-head thing must be affecting my brain..' Mika thought. 'Now I really know how poor Ryuichi must feel.'

"Great! I'll get you informed on the other things tomorrow. Same place, same time." Akira said happily. Obviously seething with joy, he brought Mika into a tight embrace. Tight and close enough to smell the scent of shampoo in his hair and traces of his smir- I mean smile on Mika's shoulder.

And so, they stood for at least 30 seconds in the same position right in front of an apartment building.

In a dark lurking corner, a pair of mysterious eyes were watching

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

More author's notes: So.... whatcha think??!!! *hops around on one foot while doing a victory dance* '^_^'. I don't think this chapter carried too much info other than the fact that I made Ryuichi gay. Well, so much for Ryuichi being bisexual and all. So, the question still remains... (what was the question in the first place?). Stay tuned to find out!

PS: **Don't forget to review!** A special thanks to all the nice and kind people who reviewed this fic and my muse, **Dark Muse-y**. You know who you are!


	5. Author's Note

I'm terribly sorry that I delayed this hiatus note. I've been trying to work the words in my head but it never ever seems to work out. So, here goes...

I'm currently on hiatus from I would say the beginning of this year till the end of my uber-major exams which is at the end of November. Being a Malaysian, I am forced to sit for what we like to call **SPM** short for **Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia**. And, get this, if I fail this huge exam, my future is practically going to be bleak and my dream of becoming a coroner, unachieved.

So, I'm terribly sorry for keeping your hopes up that this might be a new chapter to my fics, and I'm sorry for delaying this warning. But most of all, I'm sorry that I can't write anymore fics for all my reviewers out there till the end of this year. Anger is understandable and I'll receive each and every one of your flames with shame because I know that I have let some of you down. For those just beginning to read my fics too, sorry for the cliffhangers.

From,

**Mystiqal Neko**


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